Egypt's hardline Islamist resigns as Luxor governor

Adel el-Khayat will resign from his post as governor of the touristic city of Luxor following violent protests over his appointment

Egyptian hardline Islamist group al-Gamaa al-Islamiya said on Saturday that its member Adel el-Khayat will resign from his post as governor of the ancient touristic city of Luxor following violent protests over his appointment.

Safwat Abdel-Ghani, the head of the political bureau of al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya’s Construction and Development Party, told Egypt’s al-Mehwar TV that there are “objective reasons” behind the popular rejection of el-Khayat.

El-Khayat is a founding member of Gama’a al-Islamiyya, which was responsible for the murder of 58 foreign tourists and four and four Egyptians in 1997.

Abdel-Ghani said President Mohammad Mursi did not consult the group before appointing el-Khayat. “If it were consulted we would not have approved the appointment,” he said.

Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya made an ideological U-turn denouncing violence following the 2011 revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. It formed the Building and Development Party and won 13 seats in the 2011-2012 parliamentary elections.